House of Representatives Approves GPO’s Funding Request for 2013

WASHINGTON, DC—June 11, 2012—The House of Representatives approved the Fiscal Year 2013 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill on June 8, 2012. The bill includes funding for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), which has been appropriated $122.5 million, representing a 3-percent reduction from GPO’s request submitted to the House in February.

GPO requested no increase over the level of funding the agency received for FY 2012 due to savings garnered from cost-cutting activities last year as well as projected workload changes for FY 2013. The organization’s funding is provided through three separate accounts in the annual Legislative Branch Appropriations bill:

• The Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation covers the cost of information products in digital and print formats that GPO produces for Congress. About 70 percent of this cost is for preparing the electronic files used for both digital access and printing. The House approved GPO’s full request for this account: $83.6 million.

• The Salaries and Expenses Appropriation of the Superintendent of Documents primarily covers the cost of the Federal Depository Library Program, which works in partnership with 1,200 libraries nationwide to provide public access to Federal Government information in digital and print formats. The House approved GPO’s full request for this account: $34.7 million.

• For GPO’s Revolving Fund, the House approved $4.1 million for IT investment and facility improvements. While the approved amount represents a reduction of $3.7 million from GPO’s request, it includes funds to assist the continued development of GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), which provides no-fee digital access to more than 680,000 congressional and Federal agency titles, as well as other essential projects.

“GPO is working work hard to cut costs during this tight economic climate,” said Acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks. “I appreciate the support GPO received from the members and staffs of the House Appropriations Committee as our expert employees continue to transform this agency into the digital information platform for the Federal Government and the supplier of secure Federal credentials.”

About the GPOGPO is the Federal Government’s primary resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government in both digital and tangible formats. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies. In addition to publication sales, GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through GPO’s Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov) and through partnerships with approximately 1,220 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. Source: GPO.